iTunes is just plain awful. Will version 11 fix it?

One of the most-used programs, regardless of platforms, is iTunes. Given that the iPod is far and away the dominant media player, and that Apple has sold hundreds of millions of iOS devices, the application used to buy and manage audio, video, apps and books is ubiquitous.

It’s also, frankly, pretty bad. iTunes’ design hasn’t been updated since its initial 2001 release. It’s bloated and notoriously slow. It’s incredibly non-intuitive. On Windows, iTunes is prone to lockups and crashing. On the Mac, it’s more stable but still balky.

Jason Snell, the editor of Macworld, on Tuesday published a rant calling on Apple to give iTunes a badly needed overhaul. Snell is particularly unhappy with the state of iTunes’ core feature: How it syncs files to iOS devices. His ire was inspired by a bad experience syncing his wife’s iPad to the family Mac:

Recently I connected my wife’s iPad to our Mac at home to add some videos for my kids to watch. The iPad had never been synced with the Mac before, because it was using iCloud and the App Store. The moment I plugged it in, iTunes attempted to sync its own parallel collection of apps to this iPad, which I didn’t want. When I tried to turn off this feature, it offered me a decision I’d never seen before: To delete all the apps on the iPad, or keep them and stop syncing. The second option was exactly what I wanted to do. So I chose it, and watched as iTunes proceded to delete all the apps on the iPad anyway.

Given that all apps are available in the cloud these days, I’m not sure why iTunes is aggressively trying to sync apps with devices. In fact, given Apple’s aggressive moves withiTunes Match and iTunes in the Cloud, even Apple seems to realize that syncing media with a Mac or PC running iTunes is kind of a mess.

Rather than continue to patch a sync system that was wonky to begin with and has only gotten worse, it’s time for Apple to take a step back and re-think device syncing entirely. Right now it seems like the company’s planning on solving this issue by having every device a person owns automatically download everything, a feature introduced in iOS 5. That’s not a bad start, but users shouldn’t have to pick between the cloud and their local computers—they should be able to move back and forth effortlessly. Adding a single movie to an iPad shouldn’t take 25 minutes and the risk that you’ll lose all your apps along the way.

Snell has particularly harsh words for iTunes’ management of apps.

And let’s be honest: iTunes is at its worst when it comes to app management. The app-management interface in iTunes is ridiculously slow. iTunes can fill up your hard drive with tens of gigabytes of iOS apps that can easily be downloaded from Apple. Syncing apps frequently destroys folders and makes app disappear. The interface that shows where the app icons will appear on your iOS device is unstable, unreliable, and inefficient.

And he rightly points out that, if iTunes was being designed from scratch in 2012, it would look nothing like what it does now, nor would it behave the same way. iTunes harkens back to the early 2000s, and even then its interface echoes design standards from the late 1990s. I’ll state the obvious: In some of its views, it looks like it was built using Microsoft Visual Basic, circa 1997.

And it’s clearly possible to build a better-looking media manager that has a modern, intuitive interface. For example, here’s the basic iTunes view, with music shown as a list:

And here’s Microsoft’s Zune software, the media manager used for its often-mocked (and now-discontinued) Zune MP3 player. This app is also used to manage media on Windows Phone devices.

Now tell me: Which one looks more appealing, inviting and easier to navigate? (Yes, I could have shown one of iTunes’ other, more graphical views, but list is the default. And the other views really aren’t that much friendlier.)

If Microsoft wanted to really embarrass its Cupertino rival, it would make the Zune software work with iOS devices, with bonus points for building a Mac version. If I could use Microsoft’s program to manage my media on my iPhone and iPad, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

So I was initially intrigued this morning to read a 9to5Mac entry indicating thatApple’s working on iTunes 11. However, it appears that an imminent interface overhaul is not in the cards:

According to sources, Apple has recently begun internally seeding the next major release of the iTunes application for computers, iTunes 11. Work on iTunes 11 began prior to the release of iTunes 10.6, and the development of the new software product – that we are familiar with – is currently focused on under-the-hood changes, rather than cosmetic changes. However, Apple develops different portions of products in separate groups or at separate times, so the final product will likely include some new user-interface elements and more visible features.

Apple is working on iTunes 11 as a version of iTunes that supports their upcoming iOS 6 release and future devices. Apple typically releases new versions of iTunes alongside major new OS’s and mobile devices. While iTunes 11 is built as an iOS 6 compatible-release, according to sources, iTunes 11 could very well be a release coming farther down the road, and Apple could very well release another iTunes 10.x point update as a simple iOS-6-compatiblity release. One source calls that the more likely situation.

This holds out hope that iTunes 11 eventually will give the software a badly needed streamlining and modernization, but it’s hard to be optimistic. Apple kicks hardware designs to the curb every few years, but it doesn’t seem inclined to redo software. Still, iTunes is long overdue for a do-over.

40 Responses

Agree! This is the worst piece of software Apple has out there. To make things worse, it is the most ubiquitous. I have friends who have just bought their first Apple products who find iTunes so unintuitive, they are hating their purchase decision. Apple REALLY needs to overhaul iTunes.

While I would agree that iTunes has become a bit bloated and could stand a bit of modernization, I would have to disagree with the rest of your assessment. The iPod didn’t become popular just because it the hardware was a little bit better. It became popular because Apple offered the best hardware along with the best software. It was absolutely the combination of the two that put Apple clearly above the rest. That said, even to this day, I don’t see an alternative that is clearly “better”. Nor do I view the Zune software any more inviting.

The criticism that iTunes does way more than a typical music jukebox is valid. However, there is also a benefit to the one stop integration for your devices. Apple could create separate software for syncing and thereby remove much of iTunes functionality / bloat, but would that make things easier for the end user or more confusing. I’m betting it would be more confusing for most.

Steve, way off. Apple did not win this market because it had the best hardware or best software. It won largely because of the I-Tunes store. Great aesthetic design and the Ipod interface were also important factors, as were the promotion and cool factor of Apple. However, the hardware performance has been no better than many of the others and in some cases its been worse. For example, Creative, Iriver, and Zune players have often sounded much better than concurrent Ipods… and C’MON, only the hardcore Apple fanboys even try to claim that Itunes was the best music management software out there… In fact, as demonstrated by this article, most others consider Itunes (at least on Windows) as one of the worst. I use an Ipod because it is the best solution for using with my aftermarket car stereo. I do love the interface and the performance is good enough that on those rare occasions I use it with headphones I am not totally disappointed (though my MyTouch 4G phone does sound better)… Unfortunately this leaves me stuck with Itunes… It is the single most unreliable and most annoying piece of software I have to use… consequently, when a good car audio alternative comes along, I will not hesitate to ditch my Ipod.

I don’t know about “awful”, but I’d certainly go with “awkward”. The 2001 era iTunes was pretty good for the time, but as Apple has grafted the store, apps, podcasts, Ping, Cloud et al onto a once-clean interface, it’s gotten muddled and confusing.

I only use iTunes now for playing music at the computer. With Cloud sync, thankfully, I don’t have to mess with plugging in.

Dwight, I couldn’t agree more. And I took John G’s comment one step further. I received an iPod for Christmas a couple years back, and after six months of fighting with iTunes, I sold it on eBay and bought a Zune. I have not looked back at all. Further, iTunes is the primary reason that neither my wife or I have any iOS devices. I refuse to use iTunes, and thereby refuse to be my wife’s “technical support” for her phone if she gets an iPhone. So we stick with Android.

The biggest issue for me is that iTunes assumes that it is the only media manager you would ever want/need to use, and therefore it changes media tags to meet its own desires. Then if you go back to Windows Media Player, Zune, DoubleTwist, WinAmp, etc., your media is messed up.

If Apple could make iTunes work nicely alongside other media managers, or even make an optional iOS sync tool for Windows Media Player, I would probably be willing to have an iPhone. As it stands now, until there is a change, I will remain Apple-free.

I agree – I’ve tried ITunes and hated it and it’s played a big part in my decision not to buy any Mac devices at all. Of course Apple’s condescending habit of telling you what you want/need (like they do with ITunes) plays an equally big role in that decision.

After decades of refusing to jump on the Apple bandwagon _ I finally got an Iphone a few months ago. Love the phone , but OMG Itunes is incredibly hard to use. Just going through the process to move media from Itunes to phone or phone to Itunes is very frustrating. I don’t understand how Apple can make a phone that is pretty intuitive – then tether it to such a poor management tool. Don’t even get me started on App management. I got a new laptop and loaded Itunes , authorized etc.. But still having problems with App management. Still can’t get Itunes to handle the App updates for me – so have to do all my updates on the phone. No one would use Itunes if they didn’t have to.

I have worked with computers and gadgets for almost my entire life. I hold many professional certifications related to computer/networking. I can fix just about anything thrown my way… but I REFUSE to ever work with iTunes related devices. I have seen way too many friends unknowingly delete music collections that took years to acquire with iTunes’ crappy sync procedure. Whenever I’m asked by a friend to help with iTunes (which is frequent), I tell them to go to an Apple Store. I refuse to be blamed for the inevitable loss of data. Anything else, I will gladly help with. iTunes… no way.

90% of those accidental deletions could be eliminated with one simple feature in iTunes – a Preview Sync that would show you what iTunes *intends* to do and you can then decide if that’s what *you* intended.

Most of iTunes limitations and frustrations are not because Apple cannot write good software but because they are trying to control how you operate. They don’t *want* you easily copying and transferring libraries.

Apple not inclined to redo software? Ask Final Cut users about that. Or iMovie users. I don’t dislike iTunes as much as you seem to, but I would not disagree that the level of re-think that Apple has given its movie-making applications would be beneficial to iTunes.

Your comment brings a good point. It’s odd that Apple has made overhauls to programs like iMovie and iPhoto. I enjoy these programs, but don’t use them nearly as often as I use iTunes. iTunes is a combination of at least three different programs: the store, media player, and iOS synchronization. My theory is that if iTunes were for the Mac only, these might be broken into three different functions, but remain as one overloaded app because of of the need for a Windows app. Apple has proven they can produce a store (the app store), I think a stripped down iTunes would be a solid media player, and in the past they’ve had a dedicated sync app (with iSync). The only bottleneck I can see is the need to maintain a Windows app.

The last thing we need is for whoever screwed up iMovie to get ahold of iTunes. iMovie used to make editing a film easy, especially with multiple 3 second cuts. The new version has been dumbed down, and at the same time, made less user-friendly. Sure they added lots of new features that I love, but using it drives me nuts. I suspect that was their intention so people like me would upgrade to the more expensive editor.

When I got my iPhone4 last year it only took me five minutes to figure out iTunes was awful and a terrible music manager. Example: Creating my own ringtones was a true pain. Once iCloud was introduced and I upgraded to iOS 5 I on my iPhone4, I have not “synced up” once. iTunes has never connected to my iPhone wirelessly no matter how hard I tried or did. A useless feature anyway. I load apps and use iCloud now strictly from my phone, to push and pull from there. On my Win7 notebook, I only run it to get photos from my iPhone via iCloud. Apple needs to dump iTunes and create something entirely new.

Yes, you can avoid iTunes thanks to iCloud, but there are issues there, too. Even over a fast Wi-Fi connection, it can take a long time to sync large apps and video files. In addition, the music manager on iOS apps is not great for creating and managing playlists. You’ve got to go to iTunes to do many things, and so you’re right – Apple needs something new.

I have to disagree. ITunes has its problems – it is slow, syncing is poor. But for getting in and out of your music collection, I don’t know of anything better. The Zune display is prettier, but it doesn’t look more useful. Having the multiple columns that allow sorting by any tag is key. In the Zune display above, can you easily find all music from a particular year or that you haven’t played in a while? This is all available from the basic iTunes screen. And for it being dated, I can only point to more recent apps like Spotify, or in the photo world, Lightroom, that use very similar displays. I certainly hope Apple doesn’t destroy iTunes’ usefulness simply to make it look more appealing.

Apple is supposed to champion elegance, minimalism, and yet the most obvious, simple, elegant way to transfer media is disabled.

Until apple lets you simply copy your music to the player mounted as a drive, instead of needing (even apple fans think iTunes is bloated crap) software to do it for you for some reason, I certainly will never buy an apple player.

Try using iTunes to sync with a 1st gen Apple TV. I’ve lost count how many times iTunes has wiped the entire contents of that device. Perhaps this is why Apple decided to go with non-storage capability with 2nd gen ATV?

My worst itunes experience is when I updated the software on an ipod and it deleted EVERYTHING on it. Why?! It was a 1 gig ipod nano and I had about 2 or 3 gigs of music on my hard drive, so I had to go through my music collection and hand pick my favorite songs to transfer again and recreate play lists. It was such a pain.

I complained in 2004 when I bought my first ipod about how itunes sucked compared to the software that came preinstalled in my Dell PC. I think it was called “Dell Music Match”. That software minimized my music collection by Artist and then all you had to do was click on the artist, which expanded the view, showing all of the Artist’s songs. It was also a lot easier to create playlists on it. Too bad that software was scrapped a couple years later.

iTunes is essential to Apple control. Users tend to forget that in addition to ‘organizing’ stuff for you, iTunes also controls all authentication services and all advertisement and data collection services for Apple. As long as users opt for Apple control, iTunes will continue to be crappy.

iTunes belongs in the “It’s a floor wax! It’s a dessert topping!” category. It does too many things. It’s an app store, a bookstore, a music store, a video store, a video player, a music player, a CD ripper and burner, and a synchronization utility. Maybe more. If there’s a word-processing module in there I would not be surprised, but at least the synchronization utility should be broken out.

iOS doesn’t have an iTunes. It has separate apps for all those functions. I think OS X on the Mac needs to be broken up into several programs. The activation for all of them can be centralized in System Preferences.

A lot of the difficulties with iTunes stems from its digital rights management, which complicates synchronization. Loosening the restrictions of synchronization would increase the number of copies distributed without the “advantages” of Apple 30% cut.

You people must be using a different iTunes to me. It might be a bit slow loading my collection when it starts at first but then my collection is a few hundred gigs is size. I find the UI well laid out and easy to use with powerful features for sorting and organising. Managing multiple devices could be improved and music tagging fixed so that the album artists (eg. Madonna) is the primary artist and sort criterion when sorting and co-singers (eg. feat. Justin Timberlake on 5 Minutes) is ignored.

Stuart, C’mon!… Itunes is okay to use for playback… the library functions are okay, though not any better than several competitors… and I guess the ITunes store is okay, though I don’t use it very often… but other than that ITUNES SUCKS. It lacks features compared to competitors, it is a resource hog, it constantly glitches and locks up, it is a horrible synch tool, it mangles your music directory, and it even loses files if you’re not careful. I’ve been stuck using it for several years because I must have an Ipod for my main use (connecting to my Pioneer car stereo). I’ve used it on several PCs with different versions of Windows and it is always the single most glitchy and annoying piece of software I have to deal with. Maybe on a Mac it works better… but I don’t know very many (if any) Windows users that like it.

Bought a couple of movies a couple of years ago and I swear I only saw them as available once or twice. Called Apple and they did something to get them back but again they went missing. Music has never been an issue so I just never bought another movie again. Also, you are correct on Windows it is unstable and sluggish.